Pallas Pilgrimage
I am planning a Pallas pilgrimage to Prague, Brno and Budapest.
Do you have any advice at what time of day the manuls are easiest to spot and where in each zoo the manul enclosure is located? Do any of the zoos stock manul merch?
I am also grateful for any other advice you can give me.
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We’ve been to these zoos.
Our knowledge of Prague isn’t very up to date — we were there when Princess had not yet gotten used to the enclosure and was leading a very reclusive life. At that time she didn’t even come out for feeding.
I think other manulovers will be able to suggest the current situation better.
The manul enclosure is located in a relatively new section of the zoo called Gobi. From the main entrance, you need to keep to the right and head up to the upper part of the zoo — the path will take you to the cable car station, and from there you need to walk another minute to the Gobi section. The manul enclosures will be near the path on the right-hand side.
We liked the enclosures; they are made of glass and mesh, so it’s very convenient to take photos and watch the animals there. There are benches in front of the enclosures, and food and restrooms are located within a few minutes’ walk of the manul enclosures.
In Brno, the manul enclosures are also on a slope, near the pelicans. From the entrance, as far as I remember, it’s about a 10-minute walk uphill. You need to stay on the paths that run along the edge of the hill, rather than going deeper into the zoo. The enclosures are quite ordinary, made of mesh, but it’s very convenient to observe the manuls. We didn’t quite understand how close you’re allowed to get to the enclosures — physically, you can walk right up to them, but it seemed to us that some of the paths were not planned by the zoo and had appeared spontaneously (since the paths are just bare earth and turn into thick mud when it rains). We still tried to keep some distance from the enclosures so as not to irritate the animals. There is a place to sit near the enclosure. In summer there is a café there, and a cafeteria about a 5-minute walk downhill. In the shop we didn’t find any manul merch :(
In Budapest, the manul enclosure is located in the part of the zoo that borders the railway tracks; the enclosure is tucked away and not immediately noticeable. The enclosure is made of glass. It’s comfortable to observe the animals, but when the sun is bright there can be glare. It’s also good for photography, but you need to get a lens hood. There was no place to sit right in front of the enclosure, but there were benches around the corner. A restaurant was a 5-minute walk away. We didn’t find any manul merch :(
Roman Paulovverified_filled ,
Thanks for that very detailed response. I'll do my best to get some good quality photos to share on the site. I am really looking forward to meeting all of the manuls. Especially the minuls and Muztau, nephew of the great Lev.
I wish you best of luck on your pilgrimage. May you be blessed with many manul photos to share here!!
Have a wonderful trip! May both the manuls and the beautiful European cities delight you and bring you lots of new impressions!
When I went to Prague zoo in March this year. I saw Prinsessa & Spay everyday I was there. I’ve just looked back through my photos & I found the best times to catch them seem to be early morning 9 & 10 & in the afternoon from around 3 onwards, don’t know how active they’ll be if it’s really hot. Spay seemed to like sitting up in the corner of his enclosure on top of the box & quite often Princessa would be sitting underneath.
Hope you have a good trip & get to see all the beautiful manuls 😊
Caroline Townsend, Thanks, that's really helpful information. My plan was to immediately head for the manuls once I'm at the zoo. Seems that's a good strategy. Also really nice to know what places in the enclosure they usually sit at.
grushalevson, Yes that is a great plan and like Roman said there are benches you can sit at & observe the enclosure. I found they spent more time in the left hand enclosure although Prinsessa did like going through the tunnel & popping out in the right hand enclosure 😊 I even saw them both in the tunnel between the enclosures I’ve attached a couple of photos for you to see. I really hope you do see them & get some photos & have a great trip 😊
the corner where they’re often seen
The tunnel between the enclosures
Prinsessa in other enclosure just before she went back through to the left hand enclosure - I often saw her there